Spoiler Alert: How to Solve a Problem like Maria!

Movie: The Sound of Music

Rank: 40

Year: 1965 Director: Robert Wise

Cast: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Charmian Carr

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What were you doing on December 5, 2013? For many Americans, they were anticipating the televised event that would spur a trend of popular musicals broadcast on network TV. It was the day “The Sound of Music Live!” was set to air on NBC. For me, it was the day I thought I went blind.

If you happen to divert from my usual audience of family and friends, I won’t bury the lede. I am not blind. Not far off, but not blind.

It started much like any other day; I woke up in a frenzy having overslept and hastily got ready to leave. I buckled myself into the driver’s seat of the T-Wagon, the name a friend attributed to my 1997 white Honda Civic, preparing to be late to the last day of classes for the fall semester of my Junior year. Just a few minutes from my apartment and mere yards from a fender bender a couple weeks before, I was driving straight when another small, white car drove left out of a right turn only exit. With the recognition of what was happening without any space to prevent it, the front of my car collided with her driver’s door.

I don’t know what notions pass through the minds of people with perfect vision or of average height seconds after a crash, but as my glasses flew from my face as my short frame slammed into the steering wheel when the airbags inexplicably didn’t deploy, I was struck with a bolt of panic that I was now blind.

Logically, I can understand the absurdity of the thought. Could I see light? Yes. Did my eyes hurt? No. Was this a circumstance which inherently causes a loss of vision? Not really. Yet, having worn glasses since the second grade, I was unable to mentally connect my current situation with the current state of my sight. This was not an early stumble to the bathroom to brush my teeth, a warm shower to kick start my day or a lazy morning in bed with my phone inches from my face. My body had not been prepared for blurry vision on Reservoir Street. Luckily, as I reached for my face, I was awash with relief as I realized my glasses weren’t set atop my nose.

The totaling of my first car; the fact my accident was immediately outside of the rescue station; the bruises and seat belt burns on my hip and chest; the likely concussion that forced my then-roommate to spend that night waking me up once an hour or even the accidental dog shit on my shoes that resulted in abandoning those pink ballet flats outside the elevator of the parking deck could have served as the headline for the day. Yet, as I sat in that hospital bed talking to my then-roommate, the key takeaway proved to be my instinctual panic of blindness.

To this day, the trauma of that moment still causes my adoring loved ones to laugh.

Then, at 8:00 pm, I leaned against my reading pillow trying to breathe through the pain of being a busty broad with a bruised chest and chewing on cookies my mom sent our apartment (per my then-roommate’s suggestion and likely serving to meet her cravings rather than my needs) to watch as Audra McDonald donned her habit, a term I know thanks to Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, and Carrie Underwood sang through the mountains.

That Thursday in 2013 was quite notable for me, but rewind to 1965 and another notable Thursday saw the wide release of the Sound of Music on April 1. On that day, 20th Century Fox set out to address a query first posed on Broadway in 1959 about solving a problem like Maria, based on the memoir The Story of the Trapp Family Singers published in 1949.

Now there are quite a few plans of action for solving a problem, each with a different amount of steps, but they all seem to result in a few basic points: 1) Identify the problem fully, 2) Hypothesize about possible action plans to meet desired goals, 3) Put an action plan into play and 4) Evaluate the success of the action plan to improve as necessary.

"You know how Sister Berthe always makes me kiss the floor after we've had a disagreement? Well, lately I've taken to kissing the floor whenever I see her coming, just to save time."

- Maria, Sound of Music

STEP ONE: Identify the problem fully

To first solve a problem like Maria, you must first define the problem of Maria. The situation can be akin to catching a cloud and pinning it down; keeping a wave upon the sand or even holding a moonbeam in your hand. She can be summed up as a flibbertijibbet, a will-o’-the wisp or even a clown. In layman’s terms, she’s an impetuous postulant on the brink of taking her vows to be a nun at the Nonnberg Abbey. However, the others worry she is not ready given her penchant for running off to sing in the hills, her proclivity for tardiness and her general lack of abidance by the rules.

Channeling her inner Marshall Eriksen, while rocking some 1990s-esque Meg Ryan hair, Maria herself says, “I can’t stop singing wherever I am.”

Meanwhile, Captain Georg von Trapp is raising seven children following his wife’s passing (a real tragedy, given their seven children it would seem they still had the hots for each other) and is unable to maintain a governess. His home, now void of music, is run by a military whistle (a sound which startled my mom’s Australian Shepherd, Holly). He doesn’t even notice as his oldest, Liesl, sneaks out at night to meet her first love, Rolfe.

And, somewhere in Vienna, the Baroness Elsa Schraeder is a wealthy widow in need of new companionship who shares a mutual friend with Captain von Trapp, Max Detweiler. Max is a musical agent always seeking further notoriety and financial gain.

Against the backdrop of this Austrian epic with the romantic, financial and political entanglements of the adults afoot, we see the children struggle with maintaining their youth while also becoming ready for the experiences of adulthood, such as being in love, and their need to find ways to cope with pain. Often longing for their father’s affection, they have resorted to tormenting governesses as a means for attention .

For the filmmakers, the problem of Maria was much more logistic. Faced with taking this stage show to screen, they had to recreate the Nazi backdrop in a country still reeling from its influence, create a talented cast to reach audiences, coordinate vocals through cast recordings and dubbing and create cinematic moments through well-planned filming techniques.

"The Von Trapp children don't play. They march."

- Frau Schmidt, The Sound of Music

STEP TWO: Hypothesize about possible action plans to meet desired goals

Much as one person’s trash can be another’s treasure, one abbey’s problem can prove to be another household’s solution. Or, at least, that is seemingly the hope of Mother Abbess who suggests a temporary placement as governess for Captain von Trapp before Maria is set to take her vows.

Captain von Trapp has another idea for mending his increasingly fractured home as he mulls over a possible union with Baroness Schraeder. This could tie their wealth together in a harmonious matrimony, introduce a new mother into the household and maintain relations with a woman he already enjoys.

The notion of this marriage seems of particular interest to Max who sees it as an opportunity for his friend’s marriage to benefit his own social standing so he can pursue possible fruitful endeavors, like discovering a musical act to showcase in the Salzburg Festival.

Maria, confronted with all of these notions, seems to have a more MacGyver philosophy of finding solutions among things in her presence. Maybe drapes could serve as playclothes. Maybe music can bring them joy. Maybe playing along will stop pranks of frogs in the pocket so the children will trust her.

In the book The Sound of Music: The Making of America's Favorite Movie, author Julia Antopol Hirsch discusses the plans for the cast, including casting an unknown Julie Andrews fresh off filming the yet-to-be-released Mary Poppins and stage actor Christopher Plummer who was reticent to take on the role. In an effort to raise the profile of the cast, they sought a more recognizable name in Eleanor Parker for Baroness Schraeder. The children proved a more exhaustive search. However, these roles were not cast to perfect pitch and additional voices were brought in to dub or supplement the vocals of Plummer, the children and the nuns.

To achieve the grandeur of film, filmmakers had to coordinate camera shots from helicopters, gazebos had to be reconstructed for an enlarged interior and compromises had to be made to hang swastika adorned flags throughout Salzburg. The flags proved difficult to coordinate with Salzburg officials, but the filmed scenes seemed less incriminating than the actual footage proposed in their absence.

Entr’acte - If you are feeling winded from this post, feel free to take a break, grab a drink or just stare in the mirror contemplating how all of 2020’s isolation led you to committing time to this blog.

STEP THREE: Put an action plan into play

Much to the chagrin of seemingly everyone, Maria arrives at the von Trapp family home to a cold welcome from Captain von Trapp and his children who stand at attention to their personal whistle commands. Adorned in new playclothes while Georg is away, Maria runs through the hills, climbs up trees and canoes with the children while introducing them to the helpful principles of “Do-Re-Mi.” Despite some initial objections, Georg learns to appreciate Maria’s influence.

This admiration, or should I say adoration, certainly goes both ways as Baroness Schraeder comments on how clear it is that Georg and Maria are in love. Ashamed at being realized, Maria rushes away with nothing but a note.

In her absence, Georg proceeds with the plan and proposes to Baroness Schraeder. The kids’ obvious excitement can be demonstrated through their mournful singing and efforts to speak with Maria at the Abbey.

The deep sorrow of the children was seemingly felt by the meteorological powers that be, as heavy rains prolonged filming. This proved more excruciating for Plummer, who to this day does not express much fondness for this film, albeit has come around to the fact others adore it. While Andrews doesn’t seem as cynical about the process and product, it was an experience that literally, nearly blew her away. While filming on the mountainside, the helicopter had to be waved on by the director hiding in a tree, to avoid shadows or catching him on film. However, each fly-by created a breeze that almost knocked fair Maria over. This was not the only trick of filming, as the scenes inside the gazebo had to be filmed elsewhere so they could enlarge the space for dancing. For vocals, some needed to be dubbed to pre-recorded tracks, such as Mother Abbess’ who struggled with lip synching so she had to turn away from camera at the song’s start.

STEP FOUR: Evaluate the success of the action plan to improve as necessary

So let’s do a quick check-in on the progress of these plans: Maria succeeded in loosening up the children through the introduction of affection, play and music, which in turn resulted in Georg’s realization of how standoffish his discipline-first parenting model had proven. However, falling in love made her time at their home problematic, so she broke the hearts of the children and forced Baroness Schraeder to confront a proposal of convenience rather than love.

“All in all, a smashing success!” said nobody.

Let’s fast forward through some life events, Maria returns to confess her feelings after the insistence of the nuns, but must abandon those efforts when the children inform her of the pending nuptials. Unable to maintain the charade, Baroness Schraeder informs Georg she’s noticed his heart eyes and he then proposes to Maria a total of, maybe, five minutes later. They get married and go on a honeymoon as Max decides to secretly add the children to the Salzburg Festival’s lineup.

This all sounds lovely, until we address the swastika on the flag. While the focus was on solving a problem like Maria, the real problem became evident. What starts as a whisper at the beginning of the film is a full scream by the time of the Salzburg Festival. The Nazi party has taken over Austria. When it becomes clear the only choice is to report to duty, the von Trapps must flee in the night. Their efforts are of course thwarted and they must use their festival performance as a guise to run away. As the officers catch on, they are chased to the Abbey where the nuns provide protection. The once adored Rolfe now signals their hiding place, but they manage to slip away and walk over the border to “Climb Every Mountain.”

As the hike over the mountain, contrary to the real life events of boarding a train (among other alterations from book to stage and then eventually to screen), it is clear to see the success of Wise’s vision for this film. What Plummer may not be able to fully appreciate, a lifetime of watching this movie has provided plenty of evidence the story still resonates, the songs still slap and this movie is truly timeless. Even her wedding dress, which may not be my personal style, would not be shocking to see at an upcoming royal wedding or featured on a modest Hollywood starlet looking for a classic, clean silhouette.

Its true success is more of a feeling, as though the innocence of Maria and the harshness of Georg blending into this family which stands against one of cinema and history’s greatest foes is epic. It feels personal, yet comes across as grand, larger than life and truly cinematic. Whether singing on the side of a mountain or traipsing around their large home, there is an imposing feeling to this film, juxtaposed to the sweetness many worried would overtake it.

"If the Nazis take over Austria, I have no doubt, Herr Zeller, that you will be the entire trumpet section." - Captain von Trapp, Sound of Music

"You flatter me, Captain." - Herr Zeller

"Oh, how clumsy of me - I meant to accuse you." - Captain von Trapp

If you have been following along on this endeavor, you may be realizing this is yet another film about Nazis. Not the overwhelming and somber tone of Schindler’s List, nor the flashy yet violent rise in Cabaret. If you’re looking ahead, you may realize this won’t be the last. We’ve discussed the horrors of the Holocaust and even the attitudes that gave rise to such a movement. However, if we examine when these movies were made, their productions even transpire over decades. Even this past award season saw another movie providing a window into the experience, this time through the eyes of a Nazi youth, Jojo, in Jojo Rabbit.

So, what makes this time period so ripe for depiction and so poignant to draw critical attention?

Massive historical events that define a time period are often depicted. That is a given. But, if we boil it down, we often discuss films that move the needle or resonate with the times. To do either when depicting a historical event, there must be some embers of modern truth. As I listened to the many interviews during the campaigning windows for award season, I heard the conversations around Jojo Rabbit boil down to learned hatred. While there are many examples of hate in past and current events, the Third Reich embodies it to an unfathomable level. When movies are made well, they can break down large events in the digestible time frames while humanizing these figures. Humanization can produce recognition that can be applied throughout our daily lives.

Many of this film's iconic moments have nothing to do with Nazis. Yet, you can’t confront the good in The Sound of Music without being witness to the bad. Maybe that is the point or maybe my wheels are just turning too much late at night as I write this post.

This post may be long, but so was this film.

P.S. Mandy, my aforementioned sister, has long had a singular pet peeve with this movie, or rather a song. If you are like me, you often turn to your local pop-turned-Christmas music station as soon as the radio waves switch. Over your local FM, you may hear “My Favorite Things,” which Mandy will never fail to point out isn’t a Christmas song. It is neither sung during a Christmas scene nor does it reference anything inherently Christmas. According to Billboard’s deep dive into this stage song turned holiday tune, it was first associated with Christmas when Andrews sang the song on Garry Moore’s television holiday special years before the movie was released. It was then featured on The Jack Jones Christmas Album in 1964 after a music plugger working for Rodgers and Hammerstein sought a radio hit to help sell tickets and convinced Jones’ producer to include the song. Thus began a long history of this non-Christmas, Christmas song.